Hydroculture growing system with improved light/water meter

ABSTRACT

A hydroponic planter includes an outer container and an inner liner. The liner includes a central inverted cup-shaped reservoir for a liquid nutrient solution. The outer wall of the liner includes slots extending substantially above the height of the reservoir, to provide aeration of the roots of plants growing in the planter. A combined light and liquid level indicator determines the minimum amount of light in which the planter can be placed, shows when to add nutrient solution to the planter, and indicates when too little, sufficient or too much nutrient solution has been added. The light/liquid level monitor includes three light-transmitting rods of different lengths extending between the outer container and the liner; one extends to the bottom of the liner, another to below the top of the reservoir, and the third to near the top of the reservoir. The rods have flat upper indicating surfaces and conical ends so that the indicating surface becomes dark in appearance when the conical end is immersed in liquid.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to hydroponic planters. It is particularlyconcerned with such a planter which facilitates giving plants growing inthe planter proper light, water, nutrients, and aeration.

Growing plants in a planter has long required considerable care andskill. Too often, house plants receive too little or too much care, andthey succumb. Many attempts have been made to simplify the care ofhouseplants, but none has been simple enough or effective enough toprovide a widely acceptable system.

Hydroponic plant systems have certain advantages over soil-basedsystems, but even they have not proven adequate to the simple growing ofhouseplants over long periods of time.

When growing plants in a hydroponic setting, it is very important tohave the plant growing in an area where it is not too dark and to havethe level of the liquid nutrients in the planter not exceed a maximumlevel, nor should the plants be dry for too long. If overwateringoccurs, the plant will die from root rot. Allowing the roots of theplant to be dry for too long results in dehydration and starving theplant. Thus, an accurate method of determining liquid levels in theplanter is necessary.

The plant industry currently uses hand-held, electronically operatedgauges to determine appropriate light levels for a given plant. Thesegauges are expensive and cumbersome.

Light gauges have sometimes been associated with or combined with abimetallic operated moisture indicator, but these indicators are uselessin any form of hydroponics. Generally, the water/nutrient levelindicators used in the field of hydroponics have been the dipstick andfloat types as exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 2,799,089 Banker, U.S. Pat.No. 3,483,656 Baumann, U.S. Pat. No. 3,739,524 Rose, U.S. Pat. No.4,055,991 Bridwell, U.S. Pat. No. 4,171,593 Bigglestone, U.S. Pat. No.4,270,309 Baumann and U.S. Pat. No. Des. 257,529 Raap. Theirdisadvantages become apparent during use: the float is easily clogged bysalt buildup, root fines, or live roots growing into the slots in themeter, and gives false readings which result in the death of the plants.In addition, the float and the rod displace a certain amount of liquid,so even when the meter reads empty, there can be over one-half inch ofwater/nutrient remaining in the system. Because plant roots require aperiodic drying for their health, these meters lead to frequentoverwatering of the plant and death of the plants. Windows in the sidesof the pot have also been tried. However, algae buildup on the windowsmakes them unreadable in short order, and the windows tend to leak aftersome handling.

Many systems have been developed over the years to help alleviate theproblems with over- and underwatering, diseases, pests and human error.To help eliminate water spills, the plant saucer was developed and soonbegan to be used as a watering device, which brought on the developmentof simple self-watering devices and even more controlled self-waterersutilizing wicks or capillary action through porous materials asexemplified by such patents as U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,406,439 Pratt, U.S. Pat.No. 3,137,096 Hopkins, U.S. Pat. No. 3,739,524 Rose, U.S. Pat. No.4,001,967 Swift, U.S. Pat. No. 4,083,146 Brankovic, U.S. Pat. No.4,106,235 Smith, U.S. Pat. No. 4,143,487 Hollwarth, U.S. Pat. No.4,160,342 Dryer, U.S. Pat. No. 4,216,623 Silver, U.S. Pat. No. 4,344,251Edling, U.S. Pat. No. 4,356,665 De Oliveira, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,557,070Oyama. Most of these devices did not alleviate the problems of over- andunderwatering.

Overwatering and drainage have been such a large problem that numerouspatents have been issued on simple pots with improved drainage or morecomplex collapsible pots with aeration features such as depicted in U.S.Pat. No. 4,100,699 Skaife and U.S. Pat. No. 4,173,097 Staby.

With hydroponics and the advent of true hydroculture techniques reachingthe public, many attempts to use hydroculture techniques with soilplants have been made, as shown by U.S. Pat. No. 3,534,498 Herrli, whichis now considered a capillary wick waterer. Hydroculture in its presentform has been around for quite some time with little change in thegrowing medium, the aeration methods, or the way in which liquid levelsare determined, as suggested by U.S. Pat. No. 3,483,656 Baumann, U.S.Pat. No. 4,270,309 Baumann, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,663,884 Zeischegg. Asexemplified by these patents, such hydroponic systems have frequentlyused an open-topped outer container for holding liquid, an open-toppedinner container for holding an inert growing medium, and a plant in themedium. The inner container includes openings at its lower end to allowliquid to enter the growing medium and to drain from it.

The growing medium used in hydroponic systems has always been what wasreadily available locally or could be obtained in large quantities,cheaply. In many cases perlite or vermiculite has been tried forhydroculture but the norm is expanded clay pellets, most of which areimported from European countries. Imported expanded clay, althoughclaimed to be the perfect medium, does slake in water and eventuallybreaks down to chalk, much like the decay of used brick. The liquidretention properties of clay pellets are acceptable, but their variousmanufactured shapes have led to many problems. The round substratealthough non-damaging to roots never lends good anchorage to the rootball, and as the plant's roots grow and expand, capillary action of thissubstrate begins to decay. The peanut shaped substrate gives betteranchorage to the roots but slakes rapidly, clogging root hairs andkilling the plant. Slight compaction and sharp edges tend to cut orsmother the plant's roots. Expanded shale, commonly called Haydite,contains chemicals which slake into the water, poisoning the system andeventually killing the plant. Sodium and sulfur are the most notable ofthese chemicals.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a convenient,efficient and disease-free device for raising plants, such as nurserystock, foliage plants, and the like.

Another object of this invention is to provide such a device whichincludes a simple, inexpensive, and accurate gauge for determiningwhether a plant has sufficient light, when to water and feed the plant,and how much water and nutrient solution to give.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a light and liquidlevel indicator which may be produced easily and inexpensively.

Another object of this invention is to provide such a growing devicewhich provides a better growing medium than previously known devices.

Another object of this invention is to provide such a growing devicewhich permits infrequent watering of its plants.

Another object of this invention is to provide such a growing devicewhich develops healthy root systems, free of root rot.

Another object is to provide such a growing device having both an innerpot and outer pot which can be nested with other inner and outer potsfor easy storage and transport.

Other objects of this invention will be apparent to those skilled in theart in light of the following description and accompanying drawings.

In accordance with one aspect of this invention, generally stated, aplanter is provided comprising an outer container, a perforated linerand a novel growing medium in the liner, comprising pellets ofhorticulturally stable expanded slate. The growing medium does notdecompose, rot or slake in water. When fired, the slate expandsvertically forming wafer-like layers with edge separation. The pelletsprovide a much greater surface area to size ratio than previous media.They thus provide better liquid retention, lend excellent anchorage forthe root structure, and provide freer uptake and release of both awater/nutrient mixture and oxygen.

In accordance with another aspect of this invention, generally stated, aplanter is provided comprising an outer container, a perforated linerand an inert growing medium. The liner includes a raised centralreservoir, in the form of an inverted cup. Air passages are provided inthe outer wall of the liner from below the top of the reservoir to aheight substantially above the height of the reservoir, preferably to aheight substantially more than half way to the top of the liner, mostpreferably to within twenty-five percent of the top of the liner. Theair passages are preferably slots. The size and number of the slots arechosen in such a way as to provide adequate air interchange with theroots of the plant growing in the medium, while maintaining a continuumof humidity from nearly 100% above the reservoir to room humidity(nominally 55%) one inch below the top of the medium. This zone ofcontrolled, continuously-varying humidity permits the plant to extendits roots to a level of comfort for that plant. Therefore, plantsrequiring widely different amounts of water may be grown in the samecontainer. The dry upper surface of the growing medium eliminatesbacterial growth and moss from the surface of the growing medium. Italso greatly reduces the risk of insect infestation and disease andreduces the risk of germination of foreign seeds on the surface.

In accordance with another aspect of this invention, generally stated, aplanter is provided comprising an outer container, a perforated liner,growing medium, and a light/liquid level meter positioned therebetween.The indicator includes a plurality of light-transmitting rods, eachhaving an upper indicating surface and a retroreflective bottom, so thatthe indicating surface of the rod appears dark when immersed in liquidand light when out of liquid. Preferably, the liner includes an inwardstep in its rim, over a recess in its side wall, for receiving the rods,so that the rods extend between the outer container and the liner, butappear to extend into the growing medium.

The minimum lighting conditions are determined by filling the planterwith liquid so that only the longest rod is immersed. The planter isthen moved until a location is found where the longest rod turns darkand the rest stay light in appearance. Because the ability of the rod towork (to change from light to dark and back again) is directlyproportional to the diameter of the rod, rods of varying diameters maybe used for various types of plants. A plant requiring less light willuse wider rods, and one requiring more light will use narrower rods.

Determining when to add water/nutrient solution and the amount of liquidnecessary similarly depends on the change in appearance of theindicating surfaces. No water/nutrient solution is added until thelongest rod becomes light. That does not occur until the bottom of theliner has been out of the liquid for about a week, because it sits aboutone-quarter inch above the bottom of the outer pot. During that week,the growing medium becomes about ten to twenty percent drier, withoutlosing all of its moisture. The plants growing in the planter thereforeextend their roots somewhat deeper, and their main feeding roots (taproots) are permitted to reach deeper into the reservoir area. Thisdrying process therefore both strengthens the plant and prevents rootrot. The planter is then filled with water/nutrient solution until themiddle rod changes from light to dark but before the shortest rodbecomes dark. If the shortest rod becomes immersed, it is necessary toempty some of the water/nutrient solution from the planter to preventoverwatering, and to maintain the controlled range of humidity from thetop to bottom of the planter.

Other aspects of the invention will best be understood in light of thefollowing description of the preferred embodiment of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings, FIG. 1 is a view in front elevation of a planter of thepresent invention, with an outer pot portion cut away.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the planter of FIG. 1, not filled withgrowing medium or a plant, so as to show the construction of the liner.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3--3 of FIG. 2, withgrowing medium plants, and water/nutrient in the planter.

FIG. 4 is a bottom plan view of the liner portion of the planter ofFIGS. 1-3.

FIG. 5 is a view in perspective of the liner of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a view in perspective of a light/liquid level meter portion ofthe planter of FIGS. 1-3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to the drawings, reference numeral 1 indicates oneillustrative embodiment of hydroculture planter of the presentinvention. The planter 1 includes a slightly frustoconical liner 3filled with growing medium 5, a light/liquid meter 7, and an outer pot9.

A plant 10 in the planter is fed and watered entirely with an aqueoussolution of nutrients 12, in accordance with known hydroculturetechniques. The nutrient is preferably a complete nutrient solution thatcontains no detrimental chemicals, while providing all known elementsrequired for proper plant growth in a form readily useable by the plant.

The liner 3 is made of horticulturally neutral, opaque, one-sixteenthinch polyethylene. It has a sloping side wall 11 and a bottom 13 Theliner 3 is approximately seven inches high, nine and one-half inches indiameter at its top and eight and three-quarters inches in diameter atits bottom.

At its upper, open, edge, the liner 3 includes an offset rim 15 forstiffening the liner. Tabs 17 are provided at the top of the rim 15 forlifting the liner 3 from the outer pot 9. Each tab 17 has raised ridges19 on its upper and lower surfaces, to provide the user with a firm gripon the tabs even when the tabs or the user's hands are wet.

The side wall 11 of the liner 3 includes an arcuate indentation 21extending from the rim 15 to the bottom 13 of the liner 3 and flaringsomewhat toward the bottom. At its upper end, the indentation 21 has ahorizontal closure wall 23 with three holes 25 in it, for holding thelight/liquid meter 7 as described hereinafter. The closure wall 23 isinside the rim 15 and gives the impression, when the liner 3 is filledwith growing medium 5, that the meter 7 extends into the growing medium.

Side wall 11 also includes five aeration slots 27. Each aeration slot 27is four inches long and five-sixteenths inches wide. The slots beginone-half inch from the bottom wall 13 of the liner 3. The size andposition of the slots are carefully chosen, as described hereinafter.

A raised center portion 29 of bottom wall 13 is approximately two incheshigh and five inches in diameter. Both the raised center portion 29 andthe lower surrounding portion 31 of the bottom wall 13 have drainageholes 33. The size and number of the drainage holes are not critical tothe operation of the system. Raised center portion 29 forms a reservoirof liquid so that more liquid may be stored in the system without beingdisplaced by the growing medium 5. It also defines a platform above thelevel of liquid in the system for purposes described hereinafter.

Radial feet 35 on the bottom wall 13 raise the bottom wallthree-sixteenths inch above the outer container 9. The growing medium 5is therefore held one-quarter inch above the bottom of the outercontainer 9, for purposes described hereinafter.

The growing medium 5 is expanded slate in the form of oblong pelletshaving a length of from about ten to twenty millimeters. The slate isexpanded in a rolling kiln, to eliminate sharp edges which might cutdelicate rootlets. It has been found that horticulturally stable slateis widely available, which does not decompose, rot, or slake in water.Slate when fired expands vertically, similar to mica, forming wafer-likelayers. These layers with their edge separation provide a much greatersurface-area-to-size ratio than any product previously tried. Thisgreater area allows for much better liquid retention and lends excellentanchorage of the root structure to the medium and also allows thesubstrate to hold and release its water/nutrient mixture and oxygenfreely. The size of the material offers excellent plant holdingcapabilities without compaction during shipping. After a plant 10 hasaged in the system, it is not uncommon to be able to invert the pot andremove the plant and its root ball without loss of any medium. Themedium 5 has one-third the weight of soil.

The light/liquid meter 7, as described hereinafter, is designed toindicate when no liquid remains in the outer pot 9, as an indicationthat an aqueous nutrient solution must be added. It also indicates whenliquid has risen to the top of the raised area 29, as an indication thattoo much liquid has been added and some should be removed. In thepreferred embodiment, it also indicates when the proper amount of liquidhas been added.

Liquid level indicators comprising elongate members in the form of rodsof light-transmitting material have heretofore been used for the purposeof indicating the level of liquid in industrial containers. Pliml, U.S.Pat. No. 3,535,933, discusses the theory of such meters, and hisdisclosure is hereby incorporated by reference.

The light/liquid meter 7 includes transparent light transmitting rods41, 43, and 45 free from any peripheral interference. These rods arepositioned such as to remain physically separated although adjacentlypositioned. The rods are preferably made from tinted extrudedpolysulfone.

The upper portion of each light transmitting rod 41, 43, and 45 ismounted in a single, stepped connecting body 47. The flat upper surfacesof the light transmitting rods form indicating surfaces 49 which areflush with the steps of the connecting body 47. The rods extend belowthe connecting body 47 and terminate in conical tips 51. The tips 51have an included angle of ninety degrees, so as to reflect back light tothe indicating surfaces 49 when the tip is in air, but so as to refractlight out of the rod when the tip is immersed in a liquid having anindex of refraction more nearly that of the rod. The rods are of varyinglength, rod 41 being the shortest and rod 45 the longest. Rod 45 extendsbelow the bottom of the liner 3 to the bottom of the outer pot 9. Rod 41extends to a point slightly below the top of the raised center 29.Center rod 43 extends approximately three-quarters inch below the top ofthe raised center 29.

The light reflective characteristics of the light/liquid meter 7 aremuch improved by maintaining the rods' indicating surfaces 49 flush withthe top of the connecting body 47. Further enhancement is obtainedthrough the choice of the plastic and through carefully controlledforming methods.

The outer pot 9 is made of opaque one-eighth inch polyethylene. It hasan inner diameter one-quarter inch larger than the outer diameter of theliner 3. The exterior base of the container 9 has several little feet orribs to hold the container bottom away from the surface on which it isplaced. These feet are inside the circumference one tenth of thediameter of the container. Their purpose is to prevent sweating underthe container and damage to furniture.

The planter 1 is prepared for use by placing the growing medium 5 in theliner 3 and planting the plant 10 at the proper depth in accordance withknown hydroculture techniques. The appropriate light/liquid meter 7 isinstalled in the liner 3 by sliding the light transmitting rods throughholes 25 until the connecting body 47 is flush against closure wall 23.The plant pot liner 3 complete with medium 5, meter 7, and plant 10 isthen placed in the outer pot 9 of the system, and the planter 1 is movedto a possible permanent location. Enough water or liquid nutrient 12 isadded to cover the end of the longest rod 45. Light is refracted fromthe tip 51 of the rod 45, and its indicating surface 49 appears darkeven in the brightest of ambient light conditions. Because the diametersof the rods 41, 43, and 45 have been predetermined for the type of plantin question, the viewer merely notes whether the rods' indicatingsurfaces 49 appear different, indicating proper light location for theplant, or appear the same, indicating not enough light for the plant. Itis not necessarily bad for a plant to receive more light than necessary.

When a location has been picked for the planter 1, more aqueous nutrient12 is poured into the growing medium 5 until the second rod 43 suddenlybecomes dark. At that moment, sufficient nutrient has been added. If thethird rod 45 becomes dark, too much nutrient has been added, and theexcess must be drained, preferably by first lifting the liner 3 out ofthe outer container 9, using the tabs 17.

The planter 1 may then be left alone until the longest rod 45 becomeslight.

The geometry of the liner 3, the slots 27, and the raised and lowerareas 29 and 31, as well as the clearance between the inner pot 3 andthe outer pot 9, are all chosen to provide proper watering, feeding, andaeration of the plant 10 through its roots.

The raised area 29 allows the humidity within the growing chamber to beless in the center where the root ball is most susceptible to waterstress. The unraised portion 31 is where moisture is taken up throughthe growing medium into the growing chamber. The actual growing chamberitself starts at the top of the raised portion 29. Below this point isthe water/nutrient reservoir, which functions as part of the growingchamber as the liquid level decreases to empty.

The slots 27 are for oxygen circulation through the growing medium 5. Ifthere are too few slots 27, the plant will starve for oxygen. If thereare too many, the humidity will go down below acceptable levels and theliquid consumption will increase. The aeration openings 27 must start ator below the optimum liquid level and run well above the maximum allowedlevel of liquid in the planter, preferably at least twice the height ofthe raised portion 29. In the preferred embodiment, it will be seen thatthe aeration slots 27 begin approximately one-half inch from the bottomof the liner and are four inches in length; thus approximately threeinches of each slot 27 is not immersed in liquid when the system isinitially filled.

For a particular growing medium 5, the amount of liquid drawn into thesystem by capillary action is controlled by the relative areas of theraised portion 29 and the lower portion 31 of the bottom wall 13. Topermit more liquid to be drawn into the growing medium 5, the area ofthe lower portion 31 may be increased; to permit less liquid to be drawninto the growing medium 5, the area of the lower portion 31 may bedecreased.

When the liquid level in the outer pot 9 falls to one-quarter inch, thegrowing medium 5 no longer picks up the liquid and begins to dry,through the circulation of air through the aeration slots 27, throughthe gap between the liner 3 and the outer pot 9, and through the growingmedium itself, and through transpiration of the plant 10 growing in themedium. Nonetheless, the longest rod 45 continues to indicate thepresence of liquid. Therefore, when the rod 45 finally becomes bright,and liquid is added, the growing medium 5 has been out of liquid forabout a week and has dried about ten to twenty percent. This cyclegreatly enhances root growth and plant health.

Numerous variations, within the scope of the appended claims, will beapparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoingdescription and accompanying drawings. Merely by way of example, theinner and outer pot combination and geometry may be utilized with othergrowing media and other liquid level meters, with or without a lightmeter. The aeration openings may be formed as a series of holes, placedmore or less randomly around the wall of the liner 3. The raised part ofthe bottom wall of the liner 3 may be formed as multiple raised partsand positioned differently. The expanded slate growing medium may beutilized with other hydroculture systems. The light/liquid meter may beused with other hydroculture systems, or even with entirely differentgrowing systems.

Numerous changes can be made in the light/liquid meter. For example,connecting body 26 need not be stepped. The light transmitting rods maybe clear or tinted, or may have a colored or opaque coating appliedthereto, for example to color code the meanings of the rods. The upperindicating surface may have a clear or colored lens affixed thereto, ora part of the upper surface may be frosted to intensify the differencebetween its "dark" appearance and its "light" appearance. If desired,the connector 47 may include an indicator showing the proper appearanceof the indicating surfaces 49 when sufficient light is present. Afourth, short, rod may be included as a reference. Conversely, only tworods may be used if liquid is added slowly and the rods watchedcarefully.

If no provision has been made in the hydroculture system to acceptconnector body 47, it may be modified to be placed in the system in thelocation previously used by the prior art float type indicator, forexample by providing it with a hook or slot to affix the meter 7 to therim of the inner or outer pot of a planting system. An opaque housingmay be placed around all the rods, in lieu of separate coatings on eachrod, particularly if the rods are bunched, rather than being arranged ina line. Neither the coating nor the housing is necessary if care istaken to prevent light leakage into the space between the inner andouter pots.

These variations are merely illustrative.

I claim:
 1. A planter comprising an outer container, a perforated liner,a growing medium in the liner, a plant in the growing medium, and alight/liquid level meter positioned between the outer container and theliner, the meter comprising a plurality of light-transmitting rods, eachhaving an upper indicating surface and a retroreflective bottom, thedimensions and material of the rods being so chosen that in ambientlighting conditions suitable for growth of said plant the indicatingsurface of the rod appears dark when the bottom is immersed in theliquid and light when the bottom is out of liquid.
 2. The planter ofclaim 1 wherein the liner includes a side wall having a recess thereinfor receiving the rods.
 3. The planter of claim 2 wherein the linerincludes a rim, an inward step in the rim over the recess, and means inthe step for holding the meter, so that the rods extend between theouter container and the liner, but appear to extend into the growingmedium.
 4. The planter of claim 3 wherein the meter includes aconnecting body for holding the rods.
 5. The planter of claim 4 whereinthe connecting body includes a plurality of steps for indicating whichof the rods extends the deepest into the outer container.
 6. The planterof claim 1, wherein a light reducing coating is applied to said rods,said coating covering only the sides of said rods and not covering theirends.
 7. The planter of claim 1 wherein the liner includes a side walland a bottom wall, the bottom wall having a raised reservoir portion,one of the rods extending substantially to the bottom of the outercontainer and another of the rods extending to a depth slightly belowthe height of the raised portion.
 8. The planter of claim 7 wherein theliner includes air passages in the outer wall of the liner, the airpassages being positioned from below the top of the raised portion to aheight substantially above the height of the raised portion and a liquidnutrient in the outer container, the liquid nutrient having an uppersurface below the level of the raised portion.
 9. The planter of claim 7wherein the meter includes three rods, a third rod extending to a depthspaced less than an inch from the height of the raised portion.
 10. Theplanter of claim 7 wherein the growing medium is expanded slate.
 11. Aplanter comprising an open-topped outer container, a liner in the outercontainer, and a growing medium in the liner, the liner including a sidewall and a bottom wall, a liquid nutrient in the outer container, andliquid level meter positioned between the outer container and the liner,the meter comprising non-moving metering means indicating both when thenutrient level has reached a maximum allowable level and when thenutrient level has dropped below the bottom wall of the liner.